This invention pertains to location-based services and to the deployment thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to infrastructures for a business entity, and the analysis thereof, in tracking customer tendencies related to an in-store resource, such as a shopping cart. A subset of a deployed infrastructure is used only when needed. A high degree of shopping cart location accuracy is achieved through a multi-tiered low cost infrastructure.
Location-based services are services which provide information or other deliverables in response to reception of geographic triggers. Such triggers include automated input or user entered input indicating a town name, zip code or street, the position of a mobile phone user or the general position of your car as you drive.
Location-based services find immediate benefit for retail store owners and the like by providing on-time coupons and promotions based on the location of a movable in-store resource such as a shopping cart. One known retail store location-based service includes: a plurality of non-overlapping IR beacons placed throughout the store each emitting absolute positional information which identifies the position of the IR beacon within the store; a plurality of shopping carts each having a display capable webpad mounted thereon which receives signals emitted by one of the IR beacons when brought within close proximity to the beacon and thereby determines the absolute position of the shopping cart and transmits the absolute positional information to a server; and a server which receives the transmitted absolute positional information from the shopping cart and correlates the absolute positional information to store promotions and coupons or other information which is to be transmitted to the shopping cart webpad for display thereon.
While the foregoing absolute positional location-based service and infrastructure provide immediate benefit to the store owner, the store owner faces a variety of problems and challenges.
One problem encountered by the store owner is that the location accuracy of such a system is limited to how closely the IR beacons can be placed. Because IR beacons must be placed in a non-overlapping configuration, and because the emitted IR beam is typically quite wide, the IR beacons are typically placed between eight and 15 feet apart along the center of the aisles throughout the store. While this level of accuracy yields some benefit, more accuracy is desired. For example, while accuracy of the present system may be sufficient to determine whether the shopper is in the deli section or in the vegetable section, there is insufficient accuracy for isolating down to the subsection or item level. Further, with the present system, it is impossible to tell whether the shopper is on one side of the aisle or the other.
Another problem is encountered by the store owner when more accuracy is desired. To obtain more accuracy, the store owner must install and maintain a greater number of IR beacons and therefore incur additional installation and maintenance costs. Installation of additional beacons may involve replacement of the old beacons if the old beacons project an IR beam which is too wide. Maintenance involves the replacement batteries on a periodic basis and an increased number of beacons means more labor and parts cost in replacing a greater number of batteries. For example, suppose a store owner would like to increase the location accuracy from 15 feet to 8 feet. In this example, even though the electronics on the cart and the server electronics have not changed in the system, to get twice the accuracy, the store owner has to install and maintain twice as many IR beacons. Thus, the cost increases with increasing accuracy. This is clearly undesirable.
Yet another problem encountered with this system is that the infrastructure is, necessarily, always powered on. This severely limits the ability to enter into a power saving mode and leads to shorten the battery life and needless wireless bandwidth consumption. The infrastructure must always be powered on because if any of the IR beacons were to the powered down, a passing shopping cart will miss the beacon and the store owner will miss an opportunity to pass on a promotion or a coupon.